Teri-Miso Tofu with Braised Onions & Mushrooms

So, this is the dish that I served with the lovely Balsamic Asparagus.  It’s easy.  I’m not going to lie – I cheated on this dish a lot.  The store had a sale on pre-sliced mushrooms & the sauce was on sale.  It didn’t have High Fructose Corn Syrup, MSG, or any other nasty ingredients, plus it tasted pretty darn good. So let’s cut to the chase.

You will need:

• One block of (extra firm!!) tofu, sliced
• One onion, sliced
• Approx. 8 ounces of mushrooms sliced
• About 1/2 cup of Susie’s Teri-Miso Gourmet Sauce or your favorite Teri-miso sauce

Basically what I did was line the bottom of an over sized bread pan with several slices of tofu.  Layer with some mushrooms and onions; pour some sauce over tofu & co.  Keep layering the tofu, mushrooms, onions, and sauce until everything is in the pan.  Stick in a 350 degree pre-heated oven for about 25 minutes or until everything is heated through.  I highly suggest serving this with the Balsamic  Asparagus and Garlic mashes potatoes.

Broiled Balsamic Asparagus

I love asparagus; especially baby asparagus.  This is a brain-dead easy recipe and it tastes sooooo good!  You need:

 

• Asparagus
• 1 lemon
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Salt
• Pepper

 

You can either broil the asparagus or stick it on the grill!  Stick the asparagus in a shallow bake dish pour Extra Virgin Olive Oil, balsamic vinegar, and some freshly squeezed lemon juice over the asparagus.  Add some salt and pepper.  Mix everything together.  Stick it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.  Next, flip on the broiler and broil for 5-10 minutes turning over so as not to burn!  

I served this with Garlic Parsley Mashed Potatoes and Teri-Miso Tofu with Braised Onions and Mushrooms.  Everything was superb.  The recipes will be posed this week!  The picture doesn’t look too fantastic but everything was amazing.

French Bread Pizza

I love pizza. Not all pizza but my mom’s homemade pizza is one of the best things ever.  My mom and I actually came up with this concept YEARS ago because our oven wasn’t working and we wanted pizza.  Originally we made the French bread pizza on the grill.  We dressed up both sides like they were pizza crust, stuck them together like a sandwich, wrapped them in foil, & stuck them on the grill.  It worked beautifully actually.  When the oven came back, we were able to leave the faces open, so instead of a pizza sandwich, we had French Bread Pizza!

It’s really simple get your favorite pizza toppings together, tomato sauce, cheese, and a loaf or two of French bread.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Cut the loaf of French bread in half lengthwise.  Place on a cookie sheet.  Coat both sides of the bread with tomato sauce, toppings and cheese.  I personally love to add fresh herbs on top of the cheese.  They’re so full of flavor!  Once you’re done dressing up the French bread, place the tray in the oven and cook the pizza for 15-20 minutes or until heated through and crunchy.  That’s it!  Slice and serve.  You can also make little pizzas on mini bagels to serve as fun appetizers.  Let your imagination run wild.

Vegetable Green Curry

When there’s a hodge-podge of vegetables left in the house and a can of coconut milk, I usually make curry.  You really only need the coconut milk, bouillon, curry paste, lime, salt, & honey.  You can play with the vegetable and herb combination.  This is what my last pot of curry consisted of:

Ingredients:

• 2 small eggplants, sliced into bite sized pieces
• 1 block of tofu, cubed
• 1 onion, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 small carrot, sliced
• 1/4 cup green onions, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 2 tbsps fresh, grated ginger
• 1 14 oz can of coconut milk
• 1 cup of water
• 4 tablespoons of Chickenless bouillon
• 1/4 tsp-1 tsp green curry paste
• 1 tsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp honey or agave
• around 1 tsp salt (add to taste the salt and the honey need to balance out)
• olive oil

Start a wok with the olive oil, curry paste, ginger and lime.  Once everything is heated, add the tofu.  Let the tofu brown a little and then add the water, coconut milk, & bouillon.  Add the remaining vegetables, basil and green onion.  Cook until eggplant is tender add the honey and salt to taste.  The honey and salt should be evenly balanced.  Serve hot with thai sticky rice.  Enjoy!

Tofu Fillets

I had a ball making these Tofu Fillets.  I started digging in the refrigerator for the makings of dinner and I came across some tofu, and the makings of a salad.  Yes, I know, I use a ton of tofu.  It’s so easy and you can make it so many ways.  It’s probably one of my favorite things to cook.  Anyways, I thought to myself, instead of making these teriyaki slices, what if I breaded them like fish?  And there was the birth of Tofu Fillets.

I used two blocks of tofu to feed five people.  The basic recipe is very easy.  You need:

• DRY Chickenless Bouillon 
• Extra Firm Tofu or Tofu Steak
• Olive Oil

Chickenless Bouillon:

• 1 1/2 C Nutritional yeast flakes
• 3 tbsp. onion powder
• 2 1/2 garlic powder
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp celery seed
• 2 1/2 tbsp Italian seasoning
• 2 tbsp dried parsley

Put all the ingredients, except parsley in a blender and make a fine powder. Stir in parsley.  Store in an airtight container.  Use about one tablespoon per cup of water.  Makes 32 portions.-Borrowed for Dr. Shintani.  KEEP the Bouillon DRY!  Also, the original recipe is very bland to me.  I add in all sorts of dried herbs to add a punch of flavor.  You can change this recipe anyways you like.  I’m just starting you out with the basics.

Directions:

When I drain my tofu, I always rinse it and pat it dry.  Cut the tofu into thin slices and set aside.  Pour a good amount of Chickenless Bouillon onto a plate.  Because the tofu is naturally moist, you don’t need to dip the tofu in egg or oil to make the bouillon stick to the tofu in a breading.  Take the tofu slices and skoosh them into the bouillon on both sides.  Coat all slices.

Start a frying pan with some olive oil on med-high head.  Once the pan is hot, add several tofu fillets.  Fry on both sides until golden brown.  Continue until all tofu is cooked.  Yummm!

I served them hot with a tossed salad and I garnished with honey mustard onions.

Honey Mustard Sauce

• 2 tbsps mustard (I used my favorite yellow mustard)
• 1 tbsp honey (You could probably use Agave nectar to make this vegan)
• a dash of balsamic vinegar
• pinch of salt

Mix ALL ingredients together.  Pour over sauteed onions.  Spoon over salad and tofu & viola!  Dinner is served.

Touch of Asian Tofu Soup

I wanted something light yet wholesome for dinner and I didn’t want to go grocery shopping.  So I started digging through the refrigerator and I came across a block of tofu and assorted vegetables that would make a decent soup.  I also had all the fixings for a flavorful broth.  The random assortment turned into Touch of Asian Tofu Soup!  It’s really easy to make and you’ll have a tasty dinner in about 30 minutes.  Serves 5.  Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups chopped cabbage
• 1 grated carrot
• 1 block of tofu, diced
• 1 stalk of celery, sliced
• 3 tbsps fresh chopped cilantro
• 3 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• Olive oil
• 4 tbsps shoyu (soy sauce)
• 1 Rapunzel herb and salt bouillon cube
• 6 tbsps Chickenless Bouillon
• 6 cups water
• 1 tsp of sesame seeds

Chickenless Bouillon

1 1/2 C Nutritional yeast flakes
3 tbsp. onion powder
2 1/2 garlic powder
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp celery seed
2 1/2 tbsp Italian seasoning
2 tbsp dried parsley

Put all the ingredients, except

 parsley in a blender and make a fine powder. Stir in parsley.  Store in an airtight container.  Use about one tablespoon per cup of water.  Makes 32 portions.

Directions:

Take a seasoned iron skillet and pour enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan.  Turn the heat up to about medium-high and let the oil heat up, while you’re waiting add half the ginger.

  Once the ginger looks slightly browned, add half the diced tofu.  Make the tofu in two batches, so it will evenly brown.  Once the tofu is done, set aside and move on the the soup.

Put the water to boil in a pot.  Add the 6 tbsps of Chickenless bouillon, the bouillon cube, shoyu (soy sauce).  Once the bouillon has dissolved, add the cabbage, celery, and carrots.  Turn heat down to medium.  Cook the vegetables for about 5 minutes then add the cilantro and tofu.  Let the soup simmer for about ten (10) minutes or until vegetables are tender.  Turn the heat off and add the tablespoon of sesame oil and the sesame seeds.  Serve immediately.

Pan Seared Spinach with Garlic

I was at the grocery store in the produce section and I came across this amazing “Island Spinach”.  It was so lush and green.  I had no idea what I was doing with it but I had to buy it.  The leaves were amazing; they very texturized and funny shaped, pointed at the tip of the leaves.  I was inspired by my mom to sear the spinach.  This recipe is really easy & loaded with flavor.

• 1 lb spinach
• 5 garlic cloves, sliced
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Salt (I prefer “Real Salt” or Sea Salt)
• Black Pepper (I always use freshly ground)

Take your favorite frying pan and put enough olive oil in it to cover the bottom.  Turn the heat up to medium-high.  Once the oil is hot place the garlic and spinach in the pan.  The oil should be popping and steaming a bit.  Let the spinach cook on one side for about 30 seconds to 1 minute.  Quickly flip over and cook for an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute.  When the spinach is done is should be dark green to brown in color, it will also be wilted.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Serve Immediately.